Phaeton Dumped from VWoA Lineup | FerrariChat

Phaeton Dumped from VWoA Lineup

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by JBsZ06, Nov 14, 2005.

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  1. JBsZ06

    JBsZ06 Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2003
    761
    Phaeton Dumped from VWoA Lineup

    The $70,000 Phaeton sedan will exit Volkswagen'sU.S. sales lineup early next year as the German automaker realigns its future product plans with the vision of its new leader, former Chrysler exec Wolfgang Bernhard. The Phaeton move will also reconcile VW's lineup with the reality on the ground: sales have been a trickle since the Phaeton was introduced in 2003. The ultra-expensive Volkswagen was to have led a charge up the price ladder for the brand, but the company ran into serious resistance from buyers who are buying BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes in record numbers. With VW's sales down 17 percent, the company is spending its money more wisely on new variants of the Golf, including a coming crossover based on the entry-level vehicle and a new Eos hardtop convertible due out next year.
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    BEST PREOWNED LUXURY CAR TO BUY?
     
  2. bdog

    bdog Formula Junior

    Jul 10, 2004
    330
    W12 hope I can get one
     
  3. Senna1994

    Senna1994 F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 11, 2003
    13,163
    Orange County
    Full Name:
    Anthony T
    I kind of figured this would happen, in addition to competing with Lexus, BMW, and MB, it was competing with the A8. I think the Audi is a much prettier car, who the hell wants to take a $70k car to a VW dealership for service anyway.
     
  4. Viper 10

    Viper 10 Formula Junior

    Nov 16, 2003
    618
    Manhattan Beach, CA
    Full Name:
    Brad Chang
    Not only is an Audi better looking, but it is significantly lighter because of the aluminum frame.

    This car was doomed from the start... and the VW style of arrogant sales people was classless becaue they believed their own BS.

    Maybe there will be some good give away deals on these. The Bentley Continental GT frame is based on this steel frame.

    Good ridence to this car.

    Brad
     
  5. reospeedwagon

    reospeedwagon Rookie

    Aug 17, 2005
    38
    Sacramento
    Full Name:
    Chris
    Im sure the car is fine. That being said I'd never buy one. Since the launch, I think I've seen 2 on the road.
     
  6. lngjon

    lngjon Rookie

    Mar 23, 2005
    9
    Blue Springs
    Full Name:
    Johnathan Long
    I'd buy one in a few years when you can pick one up for $8500. If you think about how badly Audis depreciate I can only imagine what a $70K VW will do.
    They didn't understand their market. It may not be a pretty reality, but if a person drops 70K on a car they want it to look like they dropped 70K on a car, not a big Jetta.
    The Phaeton was a fine car without a market.
     
  7. B R

    B R F1 Rookie

    Aug 31, 2005
    2,818
    Los Angeles, CA
    Full Name:
    B R
    Ha ha, that's what I was gonna say, & I live in the Kar Krazy Kapitol. I think I can honestly say that I've seen more Maybachs on the road, not that I see that many either.
     
  8. Billy10mm

    Billy10mm Formula Junior

    Nov 11, 2003
    664
    Westchester
    Full Name:
    Billy Ng
    I CAN honestly say I've seen more Maybach's on the road, but in all honesty, I like the VW. I think its priced too high, but it's a nice car with a very comfortable interior, and typically German driving dynamics. Unfortunately, its priced WAY too high. $70K is 745i territory ... if it was priced in the $55K - $60K range, it might have attracted a few more buyers.

    Bill in Brooklyn
     
  9. tfazio

    tfazio Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 20, 2004
    1,968
    Michigan
  10. bobafett

    bobafett F1 Veteran

    Sep 28, 2002
    9,193
    aren't phaetons in the 40s right now?

    --Dan
     
  11. darkalley

    darkalley Formula Junior

    Aug 17, 2004
    826
    Full Name:
    Jim
    I've driven the car a number of times and it really is impressive(for a big car). There was a point last year when there was about $10-15K in rebates behind the car and you could lease one for about $600. At that price, it made a lot of sense. At the MSRP why wouldn't you spend a few grand more and get an A8 and not have anyone question your sanity. It's like the Subaru WRX/STI. Car guys will say that's a lot of car, your buddies at work will say "you paid 30K for a compact Subaru??? Are you freaking nuts""" Who wants to justify their car purchase twice a week.......
     
  12. Bullfighter

    Bullfighter Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jan 26, 2005
    22,350
    Indian Wells, California
    Full Name:
    Jon
    Exactly. I mean, you already have a Ferrari. Need some time to eat and sleep between car rationalizations.
     
  13. CMY

    CMY F1 World Champ

    Oct 15, 2004
    10,142
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Full Name:
    Chris
    Had VW decided to shrink the emblems (instead of enlarging them) this car would've had a better chance.

    The interior was amazing, I'm sure the ride quality was just as good and the performance didn't seem to be lacking any.. it just couldn't look like a blown-up Jetta for 70k. They also did *zero* marketing.. I don't remember seeing one ad or TV spot for the car; what else did they expect?
     
  14. Z0RR0

    Z0RR0 F1 Rookie

    Apr 11, 2004
    3,470
    Montreal, Canada
    Full Name:
    Julien
    Bingo. They said it'd fail from day one. They went in half-a$$ed, ready to bail out from the first minute.
    I'm not impressed with VAG's marketing team ...
     
  15. whart

    whart F1 Veteran
    Honorary

    Dec 5, 2001
    6,485
    Grandview NY
    Full Name:
    Herr Prof.
    I was semi-interested in one when they first came out. The reverse chic of an expensive VW didn't bother me, the interior was great, but not completely thought out, the car was a heavy load to drive in 8 cyl. form, and the dealers were utterly unprepared to market the car properly. I think the company could have improved the car (not everybody buying one of these necessarily wants supercar performance, so the biggest criticism i had about driving it may not have been fatal to a great number of potential buyers), but the failure to set up a smart program and get the dealers onboard, trained and focused on the car was its downfall in my estimation. I also think they could have capitalized on the perception of VW as a reliable automobile, which could have pulled some folks away from the big BMW (i Drive and associated nightmares) and S class (which has had its share of problems along with the rest of the MB line in the last couple years). In a very real sense, the car itself, and even its price, was not the problem...
     
  16. asianbond

    asianbond Formula 3

    Nov 8, 2003
    1,275
    Full Name:
    Chris
    Pipe dream project of ignorant former chairman, turn volkswagen into a luxury brand. Doom from start. One of biggest coporate blunder in history. Same as if chevrolet wants to build a luxury car to compete with cadilac, doh!
     
  17. bobafett

    bobafett F1 Veteran

    Sep 28, 2002
    9,193
    Err... definetly a bit of an overstatement.

    --Dan
     
  18. bmwderek

    bmwderek Rookie

    Feb 10, 2005
    22
    To this day, I still wonder how the board of directors could have let Mad Doc Peich piss away billions on a car that anybody with a lobotomy could see was doomed to fail. I mean, seriously, who drives one? Gerhard Schroder, who just got voted out of power, and probably the same people who buy SAABs, so they dont have to conform and buy a luxury car.

    With that said, I'm sure the W12 is a brilliant car. The build quality is outstanding. If this were around 50k, it would be a luxo-barge for the bourgoise
     
  19. JBsZ06

    JBsZ06 Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2003
    761
    fwiw..I believe the premise to build this VW super luxury car was the fact that MB and BMW were dropping down into the realm of economy cars....with certain models..

    This scared the crap out of VW as they knew people would spend a few dollars more to buy an economy car with a Mercedes Benz badge or Bimmer badge...

    What was VW to do? According to this failed effort...VW decided to build a luxury car that showed it could compete with the best from MB and BMW, price it thousands less and elevate the image of all cars in the VW lineup.

    Unfortunately none of this worked...and VW is in huge trouble...

    In fact...its new Passat and Jetta are for the first time in years offered up in the USA with greatly subsizied leases...Ie... Jetta Zero down 250 a month..Passat...Zero down 299 a month...

    Why? because these new models are DOOOOOGGGS in the marketplace...

    No body wants them...

    So VW...has two lead weights for previously strong sellers...the...Jetta and Passat..

    and of course the Phaeton... A Passat looka like in a 70 thousand dollar luxury car...

    Worst of all...the rumor or owner experience for the Touregg and the Paeaton has been horrible.......

    Bugatti has been mishandled in my opinion. The 1.2 million dollar supercar is long overdue..way over budget and still not very attractive to many...

    Lets see if it sells...

    Some wonder why Bugatti was not based off of a Phaeton/Bentley chassis and sold through VW dealerships... thus creating a halo effect and higher profit margins to VW dealerships...(only problem is the service departments were crucifying owners of VW's...and the belief is...bugatti owners would have been **** on too)

    VW bright spots? Bentley is a huge success!

    So for those who want a nice truly undervalued luxury car with AWD as a daily driver...The preowned Phaeton might be an attractive alternative?

    If I needed an AWD four door luxury sedan and I didn't mind buying preowned....The Phaeton would be a slam dunk as long as I wasn't expecting the very best in the marketsegment...Just the best value.
     

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